1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to a versatile broom, brush or similar floor-care implement which can be readily adjusted for optimized multiple applications, including conventional side-to-side floor whisking, push-broom sweeping and confined-space cleaning. More specifically, it relates to a multi-function, ergonomically-correct broom wherein the handle may be conveniently, quickly and changeably disposed and locked at a preselected one of a number of desired angles relative to the plane of the bristles in contact with the surface so as to enhance sweeping effectiveness and efficiency, regardless of changing sweeping requirements, which broom can be manufactured at a competitive cost.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
The working medium of floor care brushes, brooms and like usually comprises a multiplicity of oriented bristles or bristle tufts embedded and supported in a bristlehead or broomhead or other head at one extremity of the bristles and presenting a substantially-flat, exposed bristle-end contacting surface at the other extremity of the bristles for contact with the surface to be swept. To optimize sweeping efficiency, the bristle-end area in actual contact with the surface to be swept should preferably be maximized. To achieve this efficiency, the broom handle should be disposed relative to the broom head so that contact area is maximized while at the same time accommodating the normal sweeping angle and action of the user. This requirement is complicated by the aforementioned several different types of sweeping operations, variations in physical size of the user and the preferred angular dispositions of the broom handle desired by each user for each type of sweeping.
Thus, for example, for side-to-side sweeping action the axis of the handle should preferably be substantially vertically disposed relative to the plane of the contacting bristle surface. For a forward-facing push-broom type of sweeping, however, the handle axis should preferably be disposed at a convenient angle, e.g., about 40.degree.-60.degree. relative to the plane of the contacting surface, depending in part on the physical size of the user and the user's preference. For sweeping underneath furniture and other objects having very limited surface clearance, the handle axis should preferably be disposed substantially parallel to the plane of the contacting surface, or approaching such relationship, to permit handle entry along with maximized bristle area contact.
In addition, the broom should be bi-directional, that is, the handle should be reversible from one side of the head to the other. Such bi-directional disposition balances wear and bristle flexing and curvature due to sweeping stresses over long periods of use, particularly when used in a one-way push broom mode, thereby assuring long life of the bristles.
To meet these sometimes-conflicting needs, the prior art discloses various means of hinging broom handles to the broom head. Thus, for example, applicant herein has disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,324, issued Jan. 10, 1989, a broom or brush with a hinged handle which effectively copes with the problem of sweeping underneath furniture and other confined spaces while still being suited for normal push broom operation. The same design, however, does not fully meet the requirements of still other sweeping applications referred to hereinabove and otherwise.
Still other approaches have been accompanied by shortcomings from a manufacturing or cost standpoint or from a user's preference standpoint. For example, prior art interconnection means between the broom head and the handle have involved an undue number of parts or complicated assembly with consequent high cost of manufacture and assembly. The resulting product has often been found to be inconvenient to use, or unacceptable from an ergonomic standpoint or require skill or practice by the user for effective and efficient sweeping, or otherwise suffer from the perception of not being user-friendly, a real sales deterrent. Some even require special broom handles and the like.